Monday, July 11, 2016

Take a look at the men, women, & children the GOP platform unfairly targets



If the GOP wants to gain some degree of power and credibility beyond its base and the Fox News crazies, the party needs to divest from members of the religious right.

Today we have seen how much pull people like the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins has in the Grand Old Party by what members of its platform committee adopted as official party policy. And almost all of it has a nasty homophobic vent.

An amendment offered by the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins offered support for the controversial practice of “conversion therapy” for children who identify as LGBT.

 . . . The subcommittee strengthened the platform’s language in opposition to same-sex marriage. The initial draft circulated late Sunday to committee members stated: “Our laws and our government’s regulations should recognize marriage as the union of one man and one woman and actively promote married family life as the basis of a stable and prosperous society. For that reason, as explained elsewhere In this platform, we do not accept the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage and we urge its reversal, whether through judicial reconsideration or a constitutional amendment returning control over marriage to the States.”

And of course:

  Republican delegates adopted tough language opposing the Obama administration’s policy on transgender schoolkids in a platform subcommittee hearing Monday morning.

 . . . Tony Perkins, a delegate from Louisiana and the president of the socially conservative Family Research Council, said the party should include the position to support the 11 states that are suing the Obama administration over the policy. West Virginia delegate Melody Potter said, “I believe it’s time for Republicans to take a stand on it. It’s a safety issue.”

Safety for who? The "predator in the women's restroom" talking point/urban legend has been continuously refuted.  If those working on the GOP platform really cared about safety, they would get to know the transgender community before using their power to demonize them. Such as the folks in the video at the top of this post.
Video courtesy of The National Center for Transgender Equality

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